


Doctor Dad Strikes Again

by oneatatime



Category: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2019-12-22
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:28:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21899698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneatatime/pseuds/oneatatime
Summary: Lessons in teamwork, sharing weaknesses, and the best game in the world - Death Cheese.
Relationships: Tommy Oliver/Hayley Ziktor, Trent Fernandez-Mercer/Kira Ford/Ethan James/Conner McKnight
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27
Collections: Yuletide 2019





	Doctor Dad Strikes Again

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jen425](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jen425/gifts).



Dr O’s teamwork talks were getting a little repetitive. They loved him. They all did. He tried really hard to be a good teacher as well as a good Ranger, without being arrogant about either. He was good at acknowledging his mistakes, and good at appreciating everyone's contribution. He was just... also very good at lecturing! 

When he finished up, he and Hayley went out to pick up lunch. 

***

Trent smelled like blood. Again. Conner watched him from behind his soccer magazine as he walked back from the bathroom. Kira had a godawful cold, and Ethan had his allergy issues, and Dr O and Hayley were super old. No wonder none of them had picked anything up. Kira cheerfully crossed her eyes and stuck out her tongue at Trent. Trent pulled up one side of his mouth, pulled the other down, and pulled his eyelids down with his two index fingers. 

When Kira turned back to the music award show on Dr O's big TV, Trent’s hip dropped and he actually limped. Hadn't noticed it before, when they were all sitting. The grin fell off Conner’s face, and he hurriedly lifted the magazine higher. They hadn’t fought today, or yesterday. 

A mutter from the table. “Conner! It’s upside down!” 

"What do you-" Ethan’s words clicked in his head at last, and he went to flip the magazine over. Except it flopped onto the floor as he watched in what seemed like total slow motion dismay. 

"Everything all right?" Trent enquired. 

Conner sighed, and stood up. "You've been fighting alone again, haven't you."

Kira muted the TV, and turned around. She was so _small_. and she was easily the fiercest of all of them even with her hair in those cute little braids. She wasn't exactly incapable of doing dumb things - just like all of them - but she was also the best at dealing with people, and she could kick seven kinds of ass before breakfast. Pound for pound, in terms of power, she was basically a velociraptor. "Trent? Is this true?"

Ethan made a tch sound, and stood up as well, threading his way between Dr O's comfy floor cushions and ottomans (ottomen? ottopeople?) to Conner's shoulder. Kira responded to that by stepping closer to Trent's, which made Conner's mental point for him. She was fixing things so that it wasn't the three of them on one side, and Trent on the other. So Trent wouldn't feel so much like they were trying to fight him.

They weren't. They wanted to help. 

Trent looked at the floor, then folded his arms, making the fabric of his white shirt wrinkle around his forearms. Then he let them drop, and scratched at the back of his head. "Yeah, it's true," he said finally. "I don't mind if you guys are there and you help - it's good. But I have so much to make up for. Being a Ranger is an important job. I don't mind fighting alone."

"We talked about this," Ethan said softly. 

"I know, I know."

Ethan sat on an ottoman-or-whatever-it-was near Trent, and Conner noted to himself that Kira wasn't the only one good with body language crap. Lowering his head like that made him less intimidating. "Soooo, I know you understood, because you're not a moron."

"Hey," Conner said reflexively, and Ethan broke into a grin.

"Wasn't actually insulting you there, but you're welcome. Trent, I know you're not stupid and you got that we want to help, and that everything that happened is cool now. Dr Mercer's your dad. Is this one of those things where we gotta keep showing up and making you let us help, then that'll make it easier?"

"...yeah. Yeah, I think so."

Kira ducked under Trent's arm, and tucked herself against his side very gently. Trent blinked, but let his arm tighten carefully around her shoulders. Conner watched him closely, but couldn't see any winces of actual pain. Kira might've done that for exactly that reason. 

He asked anyway. "Do you need medical attention?"

Trent shook his head. "Nah, it's okay."

"I won't kick up a stink, then. But if this happens again, I'm gonna have to tell Dr O. Not to get you in trouble. Just because we're all part of the same team, and with him and Hayley, the six of us can do more than the four of us can. You're part of the team, and you help us, so we help you, too. Okay?"

"Okay," Trent said, and there was an easing about his shoulders. Like that was a relief. Good. "Anyone want more chips?"

***

Fifteen minutes later, Conner and Kira'd had their chip levels upped significantly, and Ethan was groaning over something in his book. He scribbled with his black pen, then with his blue pen, and then crossed it out violently with his red pen. 

Trent leaned over the table from the other side. "What’s the problem?" 

Ethan squirmed, and sighed, and then gave up. He leaned back, making a gesture at his page. "I have no clue what’s going on here." 

"I think it’s homework," Conner said helpfully. Kira reached out and smacked him from behind. Conner made an oof kind of a sound and reached back for her hand. She squeezed his. 

Trent sat down next to Ethan. "I’m pretty good at calculus. Can I take a look?" 

***

Another fifteen minutes. They still weren't back. 

Kira pumped her fist as Velvet Yap were called to the stage for their fourth award, then she looked over her shoulder. "Ooh! Cassidy called Devin her househusband in class!" 

"Was it as embarrassing as the time that Conner called Dr O ‘Dad’?" 

Conner smacked Ethan on the shoulder, then buried his face in his hands. "I was sick," he said through his fingers. "I shouldn't be held accountable for my actions!" 

"Same thing that Ethan said when he read that review of Death Cheese and then shredded the entire magazine," Kira commented to Trent. "He wasn’t happy they compared the main character to Fifa." 

" _Tifa,_ " Ethan and Trent both said, Ethan through considerably more teeth. 

Kira flapped a hand. "Close enough!" 

Conner turned an utterly betrayed face to Kira, and Kira repressed a giggle. 

"Video games don’t matter," he paused seamlessly for the shocked gasp from the other two, then continued, "but how can you get FIFA wrong? I thought _I_ was the idiot!"

"You’re still stupid," Ethan said encouragingly, patting him on the cheek. "Don’t worry." 

Trent grinned, and grabbed Kira’s hand. She relaxed into it, grateful he was there. Amazed he was reaching for her first. "This is what passes for flirting with you guys, right?" 

Ethan had an arm around Conner’s waist at this point, and his chin on Conner's shoulder. "Yup," Kira said, reaching back with her free hand for Conner’s. "We can’t all be nice to each other or our heads will explode."

***

At last the two adults arrived with the food. Dr O took two enormous boxes up the short flight of stairs into the kitchen, while the others all produced pieces of paper and looked expectantly at Hayley.

"You’re all bad people," Hayley said severely as she placed the various cans of soda at everyone's spot around the table. "You know he’s right." 

Conner grinned at her, somewhat less guiltily than Trent, who still had a problem with authority figures being angry at him. "Yeah, we do." 

"We love Dr O," Kira said placatingly. 

Hayley sighed, and pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket. "Okay, fine. So I got 'we all need to try harder', and 'team as family'." 

Ethan raised a hand. "Ooh! Ooh! He made that comment about Death Cheese, right? That counts as a pop culture reference! That’s my center square!" 

"Bingo," came a voice from the stairs. Dr O waved a suspiciously familiar piece of paper at them, grinning from ear to ear. 

"Daaaad! That's cheating!" Conner wailed. "I mean – Doctor Dad!" 

"Quit while you’re behind," Ethan told him affectionately. He laughed while wrapping his arms around Conner from behind. 

Trent shook his head fondly at them, and Kira bumped a hip against him, nudging him closer. Trent put a shy hand on Ethan's back. 

"I think you're doing just fine as a team." 

"You mean, _we're_ doing just fine," Kira said solemnly, and without disengaging from Trent, drew a big line through her sheet. "Bingo!"


End file.
